As Lin Xiao walked home from school, the cool autumn breeze brushed against his skin. The quiet streets stretched ahead of him, familiar yet somehow distant, like he was walking through a place from a dream.
The town seemed exactly as he remembered it—quaint houses with their manicured lawns, the occasional bark of a dog, the faint hum of traffic in the distance. But there was something unsettling in the normalcy.
He kept expecting something supernatural to happen, as if the world around him would peel back its mundane facade and reveal the strange undercurrents beneath it.
But nothing happened.
No sudden rifts in time, no strange creatures emerging from shadows, no ominous signs. It was just… normal. Lin Xiao sighed, a sense of disappointment settling in his chest.
He wasn't sure why he yearned for something supernatural to happen, but the quiet, uneventful walk home left him with a strange sense of emptiness.
After everything he had been through—jumping through timelines, fighting enemies, unraveling mysteries—this normal life felt too… ordinary.
He glanced at the trees lining the street, their leaves just beginning to turn shades of red and gold, and felt a pang of nostalgia for the chaos and uncertainty of his past timelines.
Why do I crave it so much? Lin Xiao wondered, frowning. Was it the thrill of danger? The need for something more than just an average life?
Shaking his head, Lin Xiao tried to push the thoughts away. Maybe it was just a side effect of his memories from the other timelines. He had grown accustomed to living on the edge, constantly expecting the unexpected.
Perhaps this prime timeline would give him a chance to relax and live a peaceful life for once. But even as he tried to convince himself of that, he felt the weight of his unease settle deeper.
As he approached his house, the familiar sight of the front yard came into view—his mother's well-kept flower beds, the mailbox tilted slightly to the left, the front porch with its weathered wooden steps.
Everything looked the same. Lin Xiao let out a small breath, thinking how even his house hadn't changed in the prime timeline.
Just as he reached for the door handle, his heart skipped a beat as the familiar system notification rang in his mind.
Ding!
Lin Xiao froze, his hand hovering above the doorknob. The sound was unmistakable. His eyes widened as a screen appeared before him, the familiar glowing blue letters filling his vision.
[System Mission: Prepare for the Invasion of Earth]
[Time Limit: 5 Hours]
[Description: The earth is about to be invaded. Host must prepare 20 bundles of food and water in his inventory, arm each family member with a cold weapon, barricade all doors, and eliminate any hostile alien forces that approach.]
[Reward: 5000 EXP, Access to Advanced Survival Techniques, Class: Survivalist Unlocked]
Lin Xiao stood there, his mind spinning. Invasion? Aliens? His heart raced with a mixture of shock and—surprisingly—excitement. This was his first mission since returning to the prime timeline, and it wasn't something small or mundane.
No, it was massive, potentially world-ending. The system hadn't given him any missions during his first few days back, and he had started to think the supernatural was behind him. But now, this?
A thousand questions ran through his mind, but there was no time to dwell on them. Five hours wasn't much time to prepare for an invasion, especially one on this scale.
The weight of the mission hit him like a ton of bricks. What if the system was right? What if aliens were really about to invade?
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xiao opened the door to his house. The quiet interior greeted him with its familiar warmth, but now, everything felt different.
He quickly kicked off his shoes and raced upstairs to his room, his mind already racing with plans. He needed to gather supplies, weapons, and figure out how to protect his family.
In his room, he immediately began packing. Lin Xiao's inventory system allowed him to store objects in a virtual space, which meant he could carry an immense amount without physically holding it all. He started with food.
There were some pre-packed snacks in the kitchen, but he knew he'd need more than that. Lin Xiao rushed downstairs, making sure to grab cans of food from the pantry, bottles of water, dried noodles, energy bars, anything he could get his hands on.
As he gathered supplies, his mind kept racing. Why aliens? Why now? He hadn't experienced anything like this in the other timelines. What kind of enemies would he be facing?
He grabbed a large bag and stuffed it with everything he found, dumping the contents into his system inventory.
Before long, he had accumulated 20 bundles of food and water, exactly as the mission had specified. But now came the harder part—arming his family and barricading the house.
Lin Xiao quickly checked the house for anything that could be used as a weapon. His eyes landed on a couple of kitchen knives and a hammer, but those wouldn't be enough. He needed cold weapons, something more practical for combat.
He dashed into the attic, where old boxes of unused items were stored.
After rummaging through some dusty shelves, his hand finally closed around something promising—an old baseball bat, and a rusty axe his father had left behind long ago.
Lin Xiao's heart pounded in his chest. These would have to do.
Next, he needed to give his family the weapons, though the idea made him pause. How was he supposed to explain to them that they needed to arm themselves for an alien invasion? Would they even believe him?
Just as he was considering what to say, his mother's voice called out from downstairs, "Lin Xiao, are you alright? You've been running around all day."
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, holding the weapons tightly. He needed to protect them, no matter what. "Yeah, I'm fine, Mom!" he called back, trying to keep his voice steady. But deep inside, the pressure was mounting.
Once he'd finished gathering supplies, Lin Xiao began barricading the doors and windows as best as he could.
He pushed heavy furniture against the entrances, reinforcing the weak spots with anything solid he could find. His heart pounded with each movement, a rising sense of urgency pushing him forward. Time was ticking, and soon, the five hours would be up.
Lin Xiao's mind raced, imagining the chaos that was about to unfold. He glanced down at the system mission screen one more time, his eyes narrowing in determination.
He would protect his family, no matter what.
The invasion was coming, and Lin Xiao had no intention of failing.